By Michael Morain | editor, dsm magazine

The owner of the restaurant Oak Park is planning a spinoff market and cafe just a block west on Ingersoll Avenue.

The project, called Canopy, a riff on the oak tree’s branches, is slated for 4001 Ingersoll Ave., in the building that currently houses the music education nonprofit City Voices.

The team behind the project filed a pre-application meeting request with the city of Des Moines’ development services department on July 8.

Cody Christensen, the city’s director of development services, said the request is the first step of the process where city staff hear proposals and advise on what they will entail.

Oak Park owner Kathy Fehrman said she hopes to finalize the purchase in September. It could be a full year before the business opens, she said.

The concept is still evolving, but it’s likely Canopy will be open for breakfast and lunch, with a more casual feel than Oak Park. The menu is still undefined, but its creator may be nearby.

“We’re hoping to promote from within, to promote a back-of-the-house staffer to be the executive chef,” Fehrman said.

She has enlisted architects from Hartman-Spiller, who designed Oak Park, to renovate the 2,200-square-foot mid-century modern building, built in 1957, and double its footprint with a patio that can be enclosed.

The new space will also accommodate an indoor market to feature locally grown and made products, including some created in-house. It’s likely the market would include some of the local producers who currently supply Oak Park and sell their products directly to customers at an occasional farmers’ market in the restaurant’s parking lot.

“If someone asked me about my mission in life, I’d say it’s to make my neighborhood the coolest neighborhood ever,” Fehrman said.

Business Record senior writer Michael Crumb contributed to this story.

Past coverage:

• Architect: Oak Park restaurant warm, not intimidating
• Details released about fine dining restaurant planned on Ingersoll